# Finally made my first pipe today



## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

Here it is. Its not perfection but its pretty close. Hard to believe yesterday it was just an $11 chunk of wood


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## Spit&Chew (May 26, 2009)

Mad Hatter said:


> Here it is. Its not perfection but its pretty close. Hard to believe yesterday it was just an $11 chunk of wood


Nice!


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## DSturg369 (Apr 6, 2008)

Being your first, you did a great jiob.! :tu

You'll have to let us know how it smokes.


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## Alpedhuez55 (Dec 16, 2005)

That looks great!!! I am sure it will be a great smoker!!!


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## SmokinJohnny (Jan 21, 2009)

That's really sharp! Nice work.


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## 8ball (Feb 17, 2006)

Nice job, Hatter. Looks great.


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## dmkerr (Oct 27, 2008)

That is way cool, Joe! One of my favorite shapes. Looks great!


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## AcworthAl (Mar 16, 2009)

Remarkable and beautiful great job


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## garydh2000 (Dec 22, 2008)

Great job. Let us know how she smokes.


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## dajones (May 29, 2009)

Very nice: I like the starburst pattern and the light color. Is it stained? Did you do something to bring out/contrast the grain direction?


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

dajones said:


> Very nice: I like the starburst pattern and the light color. Is it stained? Did you do something to bring out/contrast the grain direction?


Its stained now but it wasn't in the photo. I didn't do anything special with the grain except ordering my blocks from a reputatable seller, Tim West at J.H.Lowe. It was either $8.50 or $11. I couldn't tell much size difference between my medium and large blocks so I don't know which one I used for this. The finished pipe is 2 1/4" tall, 1 7/16" wide 5 3/4" long 7/8" chamber width


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## David M (Mar 11, 2009)

Congrats!
Big round of applause. Very nice.

Must feel pretty awesome to complete something like that.
Cant wait to see what else you come up with in the future Joe.
Please keep us posted.

And just fyi...MadHatter would be a killer brand name for your pipes!:nod:


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## dajones (May 29, 2009)

Well, then, we'll be needin' a series! starter block, before, after, and finished product!

I see Tim West's name all over the place lately...


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## Requiem (Dec 6, 2008)

Nice! :thumb:

Give us your impressions on how it smokes, when you light it up.

Must always be a great sensation though, puffing a pipe made by your own hands... congrats!


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## afilter (Oct 9, 2008)

Mad Hatter said:


> Its stained now but it wasn't in the photo.


I believe a new photo is required then 

A friend of mine and his wife make pipes. He cuts, and shapes and she sands and polishes. That is how I started last year when he game me this one before I deployed.


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## Dedalus (Dec 10, 2008)

In the immortal words of Kurt Vonnegut Jr., "Nice, nice, very nice."


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## sounds7 (Mar 25, 2009)

Thats pretty good. Must feel great to be creative with wood and then be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Props.


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## tx_tuff (Jun 16, 2007)

I really don't know much about pipes but thats freaking awesome to make your own and it looks great! Good job!


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## DeadFrog (Mar 19, 2009)

That really does look great, superb job! :thumb: I'd love to carve my own, but I'm not brave enough yet.


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## rlaliberty (Jul 6, 2008)

looks great! light it up yet?


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## Blaylock-cl (Apr 28, 2006)

Great looking pipe, Joe!!! :tu


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## cp478 (Oct 23, 2008)

Awesome job there man!


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## KevinV (Jun 24, 2009)

Great looking pipe, MH. I plan to try my hand at it some time myself. How much time do you have into it?


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

dmkerr said:


> That is way cool, Joe! One of my favorite shapes. Looks great!


It wasn't long ago I was bitching about never being able to get one of those from Boswell since they always sell out so fast.



dajones said:


> Well, then, we'll be needin' a series! starter block, before, after, and finished product!
> 
> I see Tim West's name all over the place lately...


These new cameras are a pain in the ass and my charger is too so don't expect too many photos



KevinV said:


> Great looking pipe, MH. I plan to try my hand at it some time myself. How much time do you have into it?


With running to buy tools, setting up my vice, changing saw blades and drill bits, winging my way through it (except the drilling which I've been practicing on walnut blocks I cut) and messing up and redoing stuff it took a whole day and I still haven't waxed it. Today I started another which is about half done at 3 hours.

Thanks for all the positive comments guys. Thank god for online forums or else who could I have bragged to? I haven't smoked it yet and don't know that I plan to. The original idea, a year or more in development, was to try my hand at making these and if I was any good at it then make them to sell for a little extra cash (which is why I started with plain blocks rather than predrilled kits). We'll see.


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## Scott W. (Jul 10, 2008)

Not a pipe smoker here but man, how cool is that to make your own pipe to sit and enjoy after a hard days work or even on a lazy weekend afternoon. Do bring more pics Joe.


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

Here's a pic of the second one I've been working on. I wanted to get it finished tonight so I won't be messing with it tomorrow when I should be studying. You can see in the photo it has some tweeking that needs to be done, mainly stripping the wax and resanding and rebuffing with a pad I didn't use on my truck last week and turning the stem down a little more so it matches the band. This started out to be a dublin but I ran into pit after pit on it so went with the flow. It had a long pit running from the airway and exiting in the bottom of the bowl so whether I like smooth pipes or not, this one is staying here


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## David M (Mar 11, 2009)

Looks like the round of applauses will continue & continue & continue....

Soo ahhhh..yah...Mad Hatter Pipes then huh!
Sold at...www.madhatterpipes.com I suppose???
Do you already own that web-address? 
Better get cracking if ya dont.


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)




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## David M (Mar 11, 2009)

digging the Zulu modified Dublin Mini Shank!


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## 8ball (Feb 17, 2006)

Joe, you really should think about continuing with this as a hobby and selling them on puff. You are a stand up guy, and I'm sure a good amount of people wouldn't mind owning the two pipes you have made so far. BTW, the 2 pipes that you sold me before have become very serviceable, thanks again.


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

8ball917 said:


> Joe, you really should think about continuing with this as a hobby and selling them on puff. You are a stand up guy, and I'm sure a good amount of people wouldn't mind owning the two pipes you have made so far. BTW, the 2 pipes that you sold me before have become very serviceable, thanks again.


Thanks for the compliment Eric. I fired up the zulu today and it smoked perfectly all the way to the heal and the poker is going to a buddy for his testing and approval. I did get a clean pad this morning and buffed some carnuba onto them and here are the finished pics (excuse the carnuba dust I missed when I wiped them down)


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## N7COF (Dec 29, 2008)

Congrats on making your own pipes :bowdown:


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## tzaddi (Feb 24, 2007)

Well Joe, I can really see you shining. A great milestone. Congratulations. :tu

PS That is one sweet hat


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## nrg2 (Jan 22, 2009)

What type of wood did you use/ where did you get the supplies?


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## Z.Kramer (Jul 2, 2009)

Those are really excellent. I would love to try to make one of my own in the near future.


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

nrg2 said:


> What type of wood did you use/ where did you get the supplies?


Briar from JHLowes J.H. Lowe Smoking Pipe Repair Parts and Supplies After all I've heard about how tough briar is I have to say I'd rather work a piece of briar than I would oak, walnut or poplar. I was really surprised


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## Seniakpipes (Jun 8, 2009)

Pipe looks fine.


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

Seniakpipes said:


> Pipe looks fine.


From a pipemaker I'll take that as a compliment. You do some really fine pipes. I made a panelled billiard yesterday but I've got some touchup and finish work to do on it yet. I'll probably finish it today since I can't keep my hands off an unfinished project.


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## dj1340 (Mar 30, 2009)

Those are 2 very nice pipes. Job well done!!


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## Seniakpipes (Jun 8, 2009)

Mad Hatter said:


> From a pipemaker I'll take that as a compliment. You do some really fine pipes. I made a panelled billiard yesterday but I've got some touchup and finish work to do on it yet. I'll probably finish it today since I can't keep my hands off an unfinished project.


 Send me picture new pipe. I would like to see it.


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

Seniakpipes said:


> Send me picture new pipe. I would like to see it.


 This project is on hold. I shaped it and tapered the rim and the bottom into perfect octagons but when I sanded the sides it threw all that extra detail work out of alignment. I'll have to think this one over and gather my patience before I go at it again.


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

Here are photos anyway, nowhere near finished now. Live and learn


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## tzaddi (Feb 24, 2007)

Very nice to see how it is coming along. Learning is good


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

tzaddi said:


> Very nice to see how it is coming along. Learning is good


I did get it finished except for the bottom. I ruined my angle for a 45* taper so I'll have to roll that one over. I hate the shank but I ended up with less to work with than what I wanted thanks to spacing off at the scroll saw. It was my intent to octagon it to match the bowl but i missed that boat by a long ways. The next one should be a breeze judging by how much I learned on this one.


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## RichieR (Feb 15, 2008)

Mad Hatter said:


> I did get it finished except for the bottom. I ruined my angle for a 45* taper so I'll have to roll that one over. I hate the shank but I ended up with less to work with than what I wanted thanks to spacing off at the scroll saw. It was my intent to octagon it to match the bowl but i missed that boat by a long ways. The next one should be a breeze judging by how much I learned on this one.


I'd say you got a really good jump out of the starting gate, and your initial pipes are inspiring, while I wait for my PIMO book to arrive in the mailbox.

Where do you get those silver bits? And are they designed to just easily slip onto the shank...how does that work?

Anyway...keep up the good work, and maybe you should get a little blog going to document the progress.


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## Seniakpipes (Jun 8, 2009)

Quite a complicated form of an octagon, where everything must be symmetrical. Maybe better to postpone it and finish later?
Possibly it may be new ideas how to finish.


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

Seniakpipes said:


> Quite a complicated form of an octagon, where everything must be symmetrical. Maybe better to postpone it and finish later?
> Possibly it may be new ideas how to finish.


I wanted to try something a little challenging so I'd know how far I could push my expectations. It would be nice if I could find a file set that is fine enough it doesn't require sanding afterwards. I'll have to look around and see what's available. Despite this pipe being entirely "caution to the wind" experimental its coming together nicely.



RichieR said:


> I'd say you got a really good jump out of the starting gate, and your initial pipes are inspiring, while I wait for my PIMO book to arrive in the mailbox.
> 
> Where do you get those silver bits? And are they designed to just easily slip onto the shank...how does that work?
> 
> Anyway...keep up the good work, and maybe you should get a little blog going to document the progress.


The nickel bands are from pipemakersemporium. They also have them at JHLowes in nickel or silver. They are gauged in half millimeter increments from 12mm to 25mm. Browse through this thread http://www.cigarforums.net/forums/v...900-estate-pipes-reclaimed-diamonds-coal.html for tips on refurbing, etc


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## Scott W. (Jul 10, 2008)

Nice work Joe, you are actually peaking some interest in me for the pipe. Great, another slope. I have to log off for a bit. :mrgreen:


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

scottw said:


> Nice work Joe, you are actually peaking some interest in me for the pipe. Great, another slope. I have to log off for a bit. :mrgreen:


Thanks Scott. Believe me when I say I'm as surprised about how these are turning out as anybody. I've been planning to do this for about 2 years now but I was holding off on health issues and waiting to get a scroll saw for shaping, etc. In May I finally got the saw and messed around on a few blocks of walnut before tackling the briar. Funny thing is that cheapie scroll saw I bought at Sears is a turd on hardwood and aside from making quick, sloppy cuts I don't even use it. I really am enjoying this but squeezing it into my full-time work and full-time school schedule isn't doing much for my lazy side that just wants to hit the couch a few hours a night.

If you do decide to give it a try don't be intimidated by the idea of drilling your own blocks. Chamber bits ranging from 3/4" to 1" are $18 each and bits for the airway are at the hardware store. Its not that hard to drill the airway either. I did all of mine with the block in one hand and a drill in the other. A few measurements and a straight edge and its kinda hard to miss. The worst I've missed drilling the airway was by about a millimeter and that's going through 4" of wood to get to the chamber.

Hell, you oughta grab a pipe and come join us. We appreciate all the company we can get


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## SmokinJohnny (Jan 21, 2009)

Pictures tell a thousand words. Outstanding work, Joe. I love the grain in the poker you carved. Truely a classy pipe. They're all classy!


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

After a few hassles and waiting a week on a new package of stems I finally have this one finished (without wax which I'm still working on getting down and I see the stem needs touched up). Here it is. Opinions welcome


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## dmkerr (Oct 27, 2008)

Nice looking pipe, Joe!


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## Dedalus (Dec 10, 2008)

Yeah, great stuff.


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## SmokinDragon (May 31, 2009)

wow looks great, i'd like to try to make one....some day


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

Here's the one I've worked on the last couple of evenings. I broke the shank on this one when I was fitting the stem so I made an attempt at adding a walnut insert to put a little length back to it. I guess I should have looked for a lighter spot in the wood I cut it from because I didn't acheive the effect I wanted. Maybe I'll redye the briar to match but that seems a waste of that nice grain pattern................ I dunno, I probably should do that. The size and grain on this pipe were nice but there was a natural split that ran from the bottom of the bowl and curled back around the shank so it was another one "just for practice.

Hey Dan, you notice I got some wax to stick to this one?


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## skittles (Jul 11, 2009)

looks nice.


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## Boom (Mar 16, 2008)

Great looking pipes!!!


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## dmkerr (Oct 27, 2008)

Mad Hatter said:


> Hey Dan, you notice I got some wax to stick to this one?


LOL! Yep, I see that!

So when are you going to accept commissioned work? I'm up for a black rusticated HEE-YOOOJ pipe. Maybe a magnum size. Full bent. Billiard or dublin or stack. But big. Massively big. Jaw-numbing big. Something that, like a Burger King Whopper, requires two hands to handle. Name your price.


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